|
|
 |
|
|
Letter from the
Executive Director  Dear Friends and
Colleagues,
We are extremely happy to
announce that our 7th Annual Dennis Clark
SOLAS Awards Dinner will be held on November 19,
2007 at the Sheraton Philadelphia City
Center Hotel at 17th and Race Streets. This year
we are honoring outstanding leaders in health
care:
- Dr. Paul Farmer, Co-Founder of Partners In
Health
- Daniel J. Hilferty, President and Chief
Executive Officer of the AmeriHealth Mercy
Family of Companies
- The Honorable Estelle Richman, Secretary of
Public Welfare for the Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania
These distinguished
recipients have helped to increase access to
health care to the underserved, and in turn have
created a stronger workforce and healthier
community.
Immigrants face many barriers
in accessing healthcare, including language,
cultural differences, and unfamiliarity with the
complexities of health insurance.
The
Welcoming Center believes that a strong
workforce is built on healthy workers. In
the U.S., most people get access to healthcare
through their jobs. We increase access to
healthcare by connecting immigrants to
employment opportunities that offer health
benefits, and providing referrals and
information for those with healthcare questions.
We need creative thinking and innovative
solutions to improve the health and welfare of
all members of our community -- especially those
most vulnerable.
Will you support
us? To volunteer for, attend, or help with
our SOLAS event, contact Isabelle Rambo at
215-557-2845.
We hope to see you on
November 19.
Anne O'Callaghan
|
|
| |
Recently, the federal
government issued new rules regarding the
employment of immigrants. These rules include
stricter methods of verifying work authorization
and quicker turn-around for reporting workers
identified as not having the proper work
documents. 
The Welcoming Center is
engaging in some groundbreaking work in West
Philadelphia. Alongside our community partners,
we are developing Welcoming Center West,
a centralized resource base and meeting place
for multicultural community-building activities.
This will be a space for the immigrant and
native-born residents of West Philadelphia to
create opportunities for ongoing inter-ethnic
collaboration. 
Imagine that your
Russian-immigrant father is in the hospital
for heart surgery. Or your Spanish-speaking
sister-in-law is about to give birth. If they
are going to receive good care, hospital
professionals must be able to communicate with
them. But it can be hard for busy staff even
to know what interpretation services or
bilingual staff are available in their own
hospitals. 
The Welcoming Center is
working hard to become a more efficiently-run
organization. We want our staff to be better
trained, we want to measure our progress more
accurately, and we want to use data to better
serve our clients. Recently we have received
three grants that are helping us do just
that:
The Welcoming Center is
able to provide services through the generous
financial support of foundations, corporations,
public agencies, and individuals.